2 Simple Ways of Asking Questions

Grammar Explanation

In this lesson, we’ll cover two ways of asking questions in Chinese.

One way is to add the interrogative particle “吗” to the end of the sentence. The sentence order remains unchanged.

Are you Xiao Wang?

Is Michael an American?

Is she surnamed Li?

The other way of asking questions is to use the “positive + negative” form of the verb (i.e. by immediately following the positive form of the verb with its negative form). “吗” is always omitted in this kind of sentence pattern.

Are you Xiao Wang (or not)?

Is Michael an American (or not)?

Is she surnamed Li (or not)?

Actually, there is a slight difference between the “吗” question and the “positive + negative” type of question. The “吗” question carries a sense of doubt and is answer-seeking, while the “positive + negative” question hints that the person who proposed the question seems to know the answer, but is not sure about it.

The Answer

In Chinese, the word order of the answer is usually the same as the word order of the question. So, to answer questions in Chinese, you simply repeat the verb in its positive or negative form and remove the interrogative word “吗”. Besides, there is no need to add “yes” or “no” in the answer as in English.

   nǐ shì xiǎowánɡ mɑ？

A: 你 是 小王 吗？

   Are you Xiao Wang?

   wǒ búshì xiǎowánɡ.

B: 我 不是 小王。

   I am not Xiao Wang

   nǐ xìnɡ búxìnɡ lǐ？

A: 你 姓 不姓 李？

   Are you surnamed Li?

   wǒ búxìnɡ lǐ.

B: 我 不姓 李。

   I am not surnamed Li.

Exercises